Ingot mold hot top casing

ABSTRACT

A hot top casing is formed from a metal casting provided with a central vertical opening, the casting being divided into separate upper and lower ringlike sections. The sidewall of the opening is one piece from top to bottom of the casting and is supported by one of the sections. Fastening means, located outwardly from the one piece wall, rigidly connect the sections together.

United States Patent 2,799,067 7/1957 Peterson 249/202 [72] Invent 3 33;? 3,373,047 3/1968 Sheets et a1...... 249/197x [21] A I No 698 014 3,018,527 1/1962 Carpenter 249/202 [22] Filljtgd- Jan. 15, 1968 3,458,169 7/1969 Eastwood et a1 249/202X [45] Patented Feb. 16,1971 FOREIGN PATENTS [73] Assignee The Susquehanna Corporation 1,442,968 5/1966 France 249/ 197 gm 126,913 2/1948 Australia 249/200 8 corporamn of Delaware Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-R. Spencer Annear s41 moor MOLD nor TOP CASING Attorney-Martha Ross 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 249/197,

249/202 [51] Int. CL 822d 7/10 ST A hot top casing is formed from a metal casting Flfild id d ith a t l i l opening, h casting i g 202, 106 vided into separate upper and lower ringlike sections. The [56] References Cited sidewall of the opening is one piece from top to bottom of the UNITED STATES PATENTS casting and is supported by one of the sections. Fastening means, located outward] 1,425,658 8/1922 Jamison y from the one piece wall, rigidly con- 249/200 nect the sections together.

not EO PATENTIEUFEBEIHYI 3563506 sum 1 or 2 I 15. 2 i v INVENTOR JOSEPH PERR/ iamwwaaum ATTORNEYS.

Pmmeu mm 3563506 SHEEI 2 OF 2 v v 3.5 )1 P15. P15. 7 I 33 i F. 34

NVENTOR ATTORNEY5 INGOT MOLD HOT TOPCASING Some hot top casings have been made in'one piece, which has the advantage that the wall of the central pouring opening down through the casing can be smooth and unbroken by any joints. Nevertheless, most hot top casings nowadays are formed from cast upper and lower ringlike sections that are detachably connected together. The advantage of making the casing in two sections is that it is simpler to cast and if either section is damaged in use, only that section has to be replaced. n the other hand, a two section casing has the disadvantage that the inner wall around thec'entral opening hasa joint where the two sections come together, and this joint often is not smooth but forms a step or offset which can lock the hot top to the sink head of the ingot and thereby cause trouble in stripping the hot top from the ingot. It also interferes with the installation and fit of exothermic sideboards.

it is among the objects of this invention to provide a hot top casing that has not only the advantages of a casing formed from connected upper and lower sections, but also the advantage of a one piece casing.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in vertical section;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line ll-Il of FIG. 1; and a i FIGS. 3 to 7 are fragmentary vertical sections of five different modifications. h

Referring to F [05. l and 2 of the drawings, an ingot mold hot top casing is formed from two metal castings 1 and 2, one mounted on top of the other and detachably connected to it. The casing has the usual central vertical opening through it, through which molten metal is poured into an ingot mold 3, in the top of which the hot top is mounted. The casing opening generally tapers upwardly to facilitate stripping of the hot top from the ingot.

The upper section 1 of thecastin'g is a hollow ring that opens inwardly. its bottom wall is an inwardly projecting flange 5, between which and the wall above it there may be circumferentially spaced vertical reinforcing ribs 6.The lower section 2 of the casting likewise is a hollow ring, but it opens upwardly. The main body of this section is smaller than the upper section and its top is surrounded by an outwardly projecting flange 7, on which the bottom flange of the upper section rests. These flanges are provided with holes so that bolts 8 can extend through them to connect them flrmly together. Since the heads of the bolts cannot be reached when the two sections are assembled, the bottom flange of the upper section may be provided with upstanding lugs'9 on opposite sides of each bolt head to prevent the head from turning when a nut 10 is screwed on its lower end. To hold the bolt heads down against the underlying flange during application of the nuts, spring grip washers 11 may be mounted on the bolts against the bottom of flange 5 before the upper section is placed on the lower section. These washers also will space the two sections slightly and allow expanding air to escape.

it is a feature of this invention that the sidewall 13 of the large opening through the center of the casing is made in one piece and extends substantially from top to bottom of the opening. This wall, which has a smooth unbroken inner surface. is supported by one of the two casting sections, preferably by the lower section as shown. Also. the wall preferably is integral with the lower section at their lower ends. It may be reinforced by joining it to the outer wall of the lower section by vertical ribs 14. The inner wall 13 extends up above the joint between the two flanges 5 and 7 and substantially to the top of the upper section. To prevent molten metal from accidentally falling behind the wall, it is preferred to have the top of the upper section extend inwardly across the top of that wall. The upper section also may be provided with a lip 15 extending downwardly a short distance into the central opening to overlap the upper end of its sidewall 13.

Together, the two hollow rings 1 and 2 provide the hot top casing with a dead air space around its central opening, which helps to retard cooling of the sink head metal in the hot top. If desired, the hollow casting can be filled with insulating material or with heat reflecting sheets, or a reflective heat-resistant paint may be applied to the inner surfaces of the dead air space. Since the bolt heads are concealed inside the casing and their lower ends and the nuts are located beneath flange 7, there is no danger of molten metal freezing the bolts in place.

It will be seen that the hot top casing just described is formed from two castings bolted together about midway between top and bottom so that either casting section can be replaced easily. The holes for the connecting bolts in flanges 5 and 7 can be cast in at the foundry with reasonable tolerances, because slight misalignment between the top and bottom sections when bolted together will not affect inner wall 13 of the casting. The inner wall, which is the sidewall of the central opening, is smooth and unbroken from top to bottom so that there is no danger of it becoming locked on an ingot. This wall will be lined with the usual exothermic sideboards or panels 16, which can be supported by a refractory bottom ring 17 beneath the metal casing. The ring is supported by vertical wire clips 18, the lower portions of which are hooked under the ring. The clips extend up the outside of the casing and have inturned upper ends inserted in small bushings l9 frictionally mounted in holes 20 through the outer wall of the lower section of the casting. Another feature of this invention is that if the openings in the bushings become plugged with hot metal, the bushings can be quickly replaced by merely driving them inwardly into the hollow lower section and then driving new bushings into the outer ends of holes 20.

in the modification shown in H0. 3, the only change is that the lower section 22 of the casting is not hollow but is solid metal. With this arrangement, the sidewall 23 of the central opening projecting up into the upper section can be made thicker to make it stronger. Also, since there is no space within the lower section, into which plugged bushings can be driven, the holes 24 for the bushings 25 extend entirely through the lower section so that they can be driven out of it from one end or the other of the holes.

FlG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which the sidewall 27 of the central opening through the casing, although continuous from top to bottom as before, is a separate upwardly tapered ring. To support this wall, the bottom of the lower section 28 isprovided with an inwardly extending ledge 29, and the outside of the inner wall is provided with outwardly projecting means, such as a flange 30, that rests on the ledge. The exposed joint between the lower end of the inner wall and the bottom of the lower section is more or less vertical, so it does not interfere with stripping the hot top from the ingot. The relation of the upper section 31 to the inner wall 27 is the same as before.

A different way of mounting the fastening members in place is shown in FIG. 5. in this arrangement the nuts 33 are tack welded to the top of the bottom flange 34 of the upper casting section 35 to hold them in place while the bolts 36 are inserted upwardly through them after passing up through the flange 37 around the top of the lower casting section 38.

A still further bolting arrangement is shown in FIGS 6, in which the upper section 41 of the casting is not provided with a flange at its bottom. Instead, it is provided with several circumferentially spaced interior bosses 42. At the upper end of each of these bosses outside the casting there is a recess 43 with a flat bottom. A passage 44 extends from the bottom of this recess down through the boss forreceiving a long bolt 45 that extends on down through the supporting flange 46 at the top of the lower section 47. Nuts 48 are screwed on the projecting lower ends of the bolts. This embodiment of the invention also shows that the wall 49 of the central vertical opening through the hot top can be integral with the upper casting instead of the lower section.

A further way in which the two sections 51 and S2 of the casting can be detachably connected is illustrated in FIG. 7. Here the flange 53 at the top of the lower section of the casting is thicker and is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced horizontal threaded openings 54. The bottom of the upper section is flangeless and fits around the flange just mentioned. Screws 55 extend through holes in the lower part of the upper section and into the openings in the flange to connect the two sections together.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, l have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

lclaim:

l. A hot top casing for an ingot mold comprising a lower metal casting and an upper metal casting constructed and arranged to be detachably connected together; said lower metal casting comprising a first ring having a one-piece continuous sidewall tapering upwardly and terminating at an upper end to provide a large opening through the center of said hot top casing for receiving molten metal, an outer wall, and a flange projecting outwardly from said outer wall for connecting with said upper metal casting; said upper metal casting comprising a second ring positioned around the top portion of said onepiece continuous sidewall, said second ring having an upper end overlapping said upper end of said one-piece continuous sidewall and terminating in a lip which extends down inside said large opening to a level below that of said upper end of said one-piece continuous sidewall, said lip being in close proximity to said upper end of said sidewall to prevent molten metal from falling behind said sidewall when present in said large opening.

2. A hot top casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first ring is hollow and has a plurality of circumferentially-spaced holes extending through said outer wall, a bushing frictionally mounted in each of said holes for receiving the end of a metal clip, each bushing being adapted to be forced inwardly out of said holes into the hollow space between said one-piece sidewall and said outer wall.

3. A hot top casing as claimed in claim 2 further comprising connecting means in engagement with said second ring and said flange of said first ring. 

1. A hot top casing for an ingot mold comprising a lower metal casting and an upper metal casting constructed and arranged to be detachably connected together; said lower metal casting comprising a first ring having a one-piece continuous sidewall tapering upwardly and terminating at an upper end to provide a large opening through the center of said hot top casing for receiving molten metal, an outer wall, and a flange projecting outwardly from said outer wall for connecting with said upper metal casting; said upper metal casting comprising a second ring positioned around the top portion of said one-piece continuous sidewall, said second ring having an upper end overlapping said upper end of said one-piece continuous sidewall and terminating in a lip which extends down inside said large opening to a level below that of said upper end of said one-piece continuous sidewall, said lip being in close proximity to said upper end of said sidewall to prevent molten metal from falling behind said sidewall when present in said large opening.
 2. A hot top casing as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first ring is hollow and has a plurality of circumferentially-spaced holes extending through said outer wall, a bushing frictionally mounted in each of said holes for receiving the end of a metal clip, each bushing being adapted to be forced inwardly out of said holes into the hollow space between said one-piece sidewall and said outer wall.
 3. A hot top casing as claimed in claim 2 further comprising connecting means in engagement with said second ring and said flange of said first ring. 